Conveyer system for handling washing machine tubs during the process of enameling



March 6, 1934. c. G. CHALLINOR 1,949,991

CONVEYEH SYSTEM FOR HANDLING WASHING MACHINE TUBS DURING THE PROCESS OF ENAMELING Filed March 4, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 6, 1934. Q G CHALLINOR 1,949,991

CONVEYER SYSTEM FOR HANDLING WASHING MACHINE TUBS DURING THE PROCESS OF ENAMELING Filed March 4, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [n'kv Ni. V I-Ll:I

gwuemtoc March 1934- c G CHALLINOR 1,949,991

CONVEYER SYSTEM FOR HANDLING WASHING MACHINE TUBS DURING THE PROCESS OF ENAMELING Filed March 4, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONVEYER SYSTEM FOR HANDLING WASH- ING MACHINE TUBS DURING THE PROC- ESS OF EN AMELING Charles G. Challinor, Cleveland, Ohio, asslgnor to The Colonial Iron Works Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation Application March 4, 1931, Serial No. 520,176 13 Claims. (Cl- 91-60) The conveyer system comprising the present production. Indeed, so high is the cost of mass invention is primarily adapted for use in conproduction of the tubs in accordance with this nection with the enameling of open-ended cylinmethod of enameling that the method has gendrical washing machine tubs, although theprinerally fallen into disfavor.

ciples of the invention may be extended to in- The principalobiect of the present invention, 50 clude painting, enameling, or otherwise treating therefore, is to provide an apparatus by which receptacles or other articles. the washing machine'tubs may be enameled that Heretofore, in the enameling of washing mawill eliminate most of the existing difliculties enchine tubs it has been customary to transport the countered in the present-day method employed tubs in'series upon an overhead conveying sysin enameling the tubs under conditions of mass 65 tem from an initial point of loading. A number production. of spraying booths are established at suitable'lo- Specifically, the paramount object of the incations along the conveyer system at one side vention is to provide an apparatus whereby the thereof and as the tubs arrive at the spraying tubs may be manufactured at aminimum cost by booths, the operators respectively assigned to the virtue of a reduction in the amount of skilled 7 various booths manually remove the tubs from labor required.

the conveyer system and place them upon ro- Another object of the invention is to provide tar: turntables mounted within the booths which an apparatus for enameling washing machine are driven in series from a suitable power source. tubs which will result in little or 'no dama e to The operators standing upon elevated platforms the tubs and which will, therefore, eliminate the 7 in their respective booths are enabled to spray necessity of refinishing operations and which will both the inside and the outside of the tubs with consequently, under conditions of mass producenamel. When the enameling of the tubs has tion, produce finished articles of a uniform apbeen completed, the operators manually remove pearance.

- the tubs from the rotary turntables and place Yet another object of the invention is to pro- 80 them on a second conveyer system arranged vide a conveying system for continuously transalong the opposite side of the spraying booths. porting the tubs or articles in series through the The tubs on this second conveyer system are then enameling process and from thence through the conducted through a suitable drier and are redrying process to a point of distribution without moved at a suitable unloading point from whence the necessity of removal from the conveyer or 5 they are transported to the baking furnaces or of other manual handling of the tubs.

s to some other process. A still further object of the invention is to There are numerous disadvantages attendant provide an apparatus of the character described upon this method of enameling the washing mawhich is extremely simple in its construction and a chine tubs. First among these is the relatively which is comprised of a relatively few-number 9 high cost of labor incident upon the number of of moving parts, yet one which is rugged and operators that must be employed in removing durable and which consequently is unlikely to the washing machine tubs from the first conget out of order.

veyer and placing the same upon their respec- In order to accomplish the above aims and ob- 40 tive turntables. These operators are subsequent- Iie tS, e invention contemplates the Provision ly, after a period ofidleness in which the tubs of an endless conveyer adap d to c ess v ly are being sprayed, obliged to remove the tubs and continuously receive the tubs to be treated. from the turntables and place them upon the The conveyer transports the tubs through a sesecond conveyer for transportation to the driers. ries of sp y n bO t in Which the tubs are 45 In addition to the high labor costs. it frequently maintained on the conveyer at the proper level happens that because of the large amount of fo p y W enamel and also in which the handling of the conveyers that is required, contubs are automatically revolved without removal siderable damage, even with the most cautious from the conveyer, The booths are arranged in and skillful operators. results. When the enamel series along the conveyer and provision is made 50 has been scratched fingermarked, or otherwise for conducting the tubs as they emerge from the defaced on any one of the tubs. this tub must last spraying booth in the series through a drier be rejected and subjected to a repetition of the while still .on the conveyer, to apoint of disprocess or otherwise one or more refinishing opcharge. erators must be employed to touch up the defec- Convenience of arrangement of parts, simplic- 55 tive work, thereby materially adding to the cost of ity, and comparative inexpense, both of manufactors and of operation, are further disideratum ii have been home in mind in the production cment of the present invention.

anew" as the nature of the invention is cmdeistood, and the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying three sheets drawings, in which- .igure 1 is a schematic top plan view showthe conveying system, including the spraybooths, and drier employed in connection with the treatment of the washing machine tubs, certain parts in this view being broken away to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the conveyer system proper extending from a point adjacent its entrance into the spraying booths to afpoint adjacent its point of emergence from its spraying booths.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showin a portion of the conveyer proper and showing one of the washing machine tub trolleys with a washing machine placed thereon and also showing the mechanism by which the turntable and tub are rotated in passing through the spraying booth.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line H of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the general arrangement of the conveyer proper, together with its driving mechanism, and

Figure 6 is a side elevation of they device shown in Figure 5.

In all of the above described views, like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout.

The conveyer for transporting the washing machine tubs involves in its general organization an upper carrier 10 and a lower carrier 11. These carriers are arranged vertically one above the other in parallel relation and are substantially identical in construction. The upper carrier comprises an I-beam 14 of standard construction having roller races 16 thereon. A plurality of carriages 18 are suspended from the upper carrier. These carriages are supported for longitudinal movement on the I-beam or trestle 14'by means of U-shaped brackets 20 having parallel arms 22 on which are internally journaled rollers 24 which are adapted to travel upon the races 16. Each of the brackets 20 is provided with a downwardly extending lug 26 to which lug is bolted or otherwise secured a lug 28 on a link 30. Each link 30 is of special construction and comprises one element in a series of links 32 in an endless conveyer chain 34 having rollers 35 incorporated therein. Each link 30 of the chain 34 is provided with a counterpart link 36 also forming an element of the chain 34. Each of these links 36 is provided with bifurcated lugs 38 dependent therefrom and extending between the bifurcations of each lug 38, and secured therebetween by means of a nut and bolt assembly 40 is a strap 42 carrying one of the carriages 18.

Each of the carriages comprises a frame haviig parallel side members 44 which converge at &6 inwardly and are welded at their upper ends to the strap 42. A reinforcing strut 48 in the form of a horizontal bar has its ends welded to the side members 44 adjacent their upper ends and the lower ends of the side members 44 are secured at oppositely disposed pointsto a horizontal elongated channel-shaped plate 50. C

trally of the plate 50 and to the underneath side thereof there is bolted a. bearing member 52. This bearing member is provided with lateral flanges 54 which are bolted as at 56 to the underneath side of the plate 50. Extendin through the bearing 52 and through an opening 58 in the plate 50 is a shaft 60, the lower end of which is swiveled in a. socket 62 in a socket member 64. Secured to the upper end of the shaft in any suitable manner is a turntable 65 having a circumferential beveled edge 67 upon which a tub 69 to be treated is adapted to seat. The tub is provided with a central depression in its bottom providing a beveled seat 71 adapted to bear against the seat 67 to center the tub in position on the turntable. The socket member 64 is provided with a lug 66 bolted or otherwise secured as at 69 to a lug on a link 72 forming one element of an endless conveyer chain 74 having rollers 35 incorporated therewith, which forms a part of the lower carrier 11. Secured to the shaft 60 by means of a through-bolt assembly 76 is a gear member '78, the purpose of which will be more fully described hereinafter. .A plurality of guide members are provided for the upper and lower endless conveyer chains 34 and '74 respectively. These guide members are in the form of angle beams 80, which angle beams present their inner or outer vertical sides 81, as the case may be, to the rollers 35.

The cooperating elements of the upper carriage 10 are suitably supported from any suitable superstructure, not shown, and the lower carriage may similarly be supported from a supporting structure 82. Journaled in suitable frame members 84 is a vertical shaft 86 carrying sprocket wheels 88 and 90 for driving the endless conveyer chains 34 and 74 respectively. Mounted upon oneend of the shaft 86 is a bevel gear 92 meshing with a second bevel gear 94 carried by'the horizontal shaft 96 which may be connected to any suitable source of power. Thus it will be seen that the upper conveyer chain 34 and the lower conveyer chain '74 are driven in unison at an equal rate of speed, and inasmuch as the special links 30 and 36 of the their upper and lower ends movably mounted I in the upper and lower carrier systems of the conveyer, will be uniformly moved along the path of the conveyer in vertical position.

Referring now to Figure 1, in which the entire conveyer system is shown in plan a plurality of open-ended spraying booths 13, 15, 1'1, 19, 21, and 23 are shown. These spraying booths are arranged in succession along the path of the conveyer, preferably adjacent the paint shop of the building in which the installation is made. These spraying booths, as before stated, are open-ended and are arranged with their openends staggered with respect to each other. The sides 25 of the spraying booth are cut-away as at 27 to permit the conveyer to pass through the series of booths from a point of entry 29 into the first booth 13 to a point of emergence 31 from the last booth 23. The path of the conveyer through these spraying booths is that of a serpentine similar to a sinus curve, the nodes of which are coincident with the side walls of the booths. In order to properly guide the upper and lower roller chains of the upper and lower curves of the conveyer respectively, the

angle beams or guides for these chains are interrupted adjacent the points where the curvature of the conveyer changes, and these angular beams are continued on the inner sides of the roller chain in each booth so that the chain may follow the path prescribed for it.

Horizontally positioned in each booth at a height on a level with the gears 78 of the various carriages 18 is a curved rack 33 having internal teeth thereon adapted to mesh with the teeth on the gears '78 as the carriages enter the respective compartments. Normally the carriages traveling along the conveyer do not roe tate, but upon entry into the spraying booths, rotational movement is imparted to the carriages by virtue of theinterengagement of the gears 78 with the racks 33. These racks 33 follow the curvature of the-path of the conveyer as it passes through each booth and are arranged on the. outer side of the curve that occurs in each booth. Suitable platforms 100 are provided in each booth upon which the operator may stand when he sprays the rotating tubs in the booths. The elevation of the platforms 100 may be varied to permit internal spraying as shown at 97 or external spraying as shown at 99 to be accomplished.

In actual operation the tubs are manually loaded on the carriages of the conveyer at a suitable point. From thence they are conveyed to the spraying booths. As a carriage 18 enters the spraying booth 13, the gears 78 are caused to mesh with the rack 33 positioned within the spraying booth and the tub is rotated as it passes through the booth in the direction of the arrow 0. When the tub leaves the booth 13 and enters the booth 15 the gear '78 meshing with the rack 33 in this latter booth causes rotation of the turntable 65, together with the tub thereon in the direction of the arrow 2) and similarly, as the carriages emerge from one booth and enter the next booth, the direction of rotation of the turntable with the tub thereon is reversed. The operators on the platforms 100 in each of the booths may spray the tubs with the enamel or with any suitable finishing composition. For example, the operator in the booth 13 may simply spray the inside of the tub with a suitable filler material, and toward this end the platform 100 upon which he operates will be comparatively low. The operators in the booths 1'7 and 19 may spray the inside and outside of the tub respectively with a basic coat of enamel of one color while the operators in the booths 21 and 23 may spray the inside and outside of the tubs with a finishing coat of enamel of a different color. Irrespective, however, of these details in the specific enameling process of the tubs, the essential features of the invention are not altered. As the tubs successively emerge from the last booth 23, the respective gears '78 leave the last rack 33 in'this last booth and the tubs are thence transported to a drier 95. This drier may be of any suitable size and of any suitable form, and no claim is made in this application as to the novelty of the drier. From the drier the tubs are transported to a suitable point of discharge where they are moved from the turntables and subjected to a further processing.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification, as various changes in details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the type of conveyer mechanism employed may be altered as may the details of the carriages carried by the conveyer be altered. Only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims, isthe same to be limited.

Having thus described'iny invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. An apparatus for continuously handling articles to be treated, comprising a conveying system including upper and lower tracks, a carriage suspended from the upper track adapted to travel along the path of said system, a turntable associated with said carriage, and means for causing rotation of said turntable as the carriage passes a predetermined point on the path of said conveyer system.

2. An apparatus for continuously handling articles to be sprayed, comprising a conveyer system including upper and lower tracks, a carriage suspended from said upper track and supported by said lower track adapted to travel along the tracks of said'system, a turntable associated with said carriage, a gear rotatable with said turntable, and a stationary rack extending along the lower track of said conveyer and adapted to engage said gear to cause rotation of said turntable as the carriage travels along the path of the conveyer.

3. An apparatus for continuously handling articles to be sprayed, comprisingv a conveyer system including upper and lower carriers com prising an endless chain, a carriage suspended 4. An apparatus for continuously handling articles to be treated, comprising an endless conveyer system including upper and lower carriers, each carrier including an endless chain movable in the path of said conveyer system, means for driving said chains at equal rates of speed, a carriage suspended from the chain of said upper carrier and connected to the chain of said lower carrier, a ro'.atab1e turntable associated with said carriage, and a stationary rack adjacent the lower carrier extending along a portion of the length of the carrier system, a gear mounted for rotation with said turntable and adapted to be engaged by said rack to cause rotation with said turntable and adapted to be engaged by said rack to cause rotation of the same.

5. A device for continuously handling articles to be sprayed, comprising a conveyer system including an overhead endless chain, a support for said chain, a second support, a carriage suspended from said second support and adapted to travel with said chain in the path of the conveyer system, said carriage having a turntable, means rotatably mounted thereon for moving said turntable, and means extending throughout a portion of the length of said conveyer system and cooperating with said last mentioned means for causing rotation of said turntable.

6. Apparatus for continuously handling articles to be treated, comprising an overhead track, a carriage suspended therefrom, an endless chain connected to said carriage, a guide for maintaining said chain in a path substantially parallel with said track, a turntable rotatably mounted on said carriage, means for moving said chain,

and stationary means cooperating with said Last mentioned means for rotating said turntable.

'1. Apparatus oi the character described, comprising an endless conveyer including upper and lower carriages movable in the path of said conveyer, a plurality of open-ended booths arranged successively in the path or said conveyor and through which said conveyer successively: passes, one end of each booth being closed, said conveyer in passing through said booths successively following a serpentine path, a turntable rotatably mounted on each carriage, and means in each booth for causing rotation of the respective tumtables as each carriage passes therethrough.

8. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination 0! upper and lower carrier tracks, an article carrier suspended from the upper track and moving between the upper and lower tracks, a turntable mounted upon the article carrier and adapted to carry articles to be coated, supporting-means for the turntable, means carried by the turntable supporting-means to rotate the turntable, and means for moving the carrier in a rectilinear'direction between the tracks, said means also actuating the means for rotating the turntable.

9. In combination, a series of coating booths, upper and lower carrier tracks positioned in said booths, a traveling article carrier suspended from the upper track and moving between the tracks and through said booths, a permanent rack in each booth, a turntable mounted on the article carrier to carry and rotate articles to be coated, supporting-means for the turntable, means carried by the turntable supporting-means to rotate the table, and means for moving the carrier in a rectilinear direction and bringing said turntable rotating means in engagement with the permanent racks in said booths.

10. In apparatus of the type described, the combination of an article carrier having a bottom member and adapted to move between upper and lower tracks, upper and lower chains operatively connected to the carrier for moving the same between the tracks in a rectilinear direction,- a shaft cooperating sleeve connected with the lower chain, a turntable adapted to be fastened to the other end of the shaft and provided with an extension shoulder bearing against that shaft whereby vertical motion thereof is prevented, and means mounted on the shaft for rotating the turntable, said means being actuated by a iiovement or the carrier in a rectilinear direc- 11. An apparatus for continuously handling articles to be treated, comprising an endless conveyer system including upper and lower carriers movable in the path of the said 'conveyer systems, means I01 driving the said carriers at equal rates of speed, an article supporting member suspended from the upper carrier and connected to the lower carrier, a rotatable turntable associated with the said article support, and a stationary rack adjacent the lower carrier eittending along a portion of the length or the conveyer system, and instrumentalities mounted for rotation with the said turntable and adapted to be engaged by the rack to cause rotation with the turntable and adapted to be engaged by the rack to cause rotation of the same.

12. An apparatus for handling articles to be operated upon at various points along a selected path of travel, which comprises, in combination, an upper track, a lower track, a carriage suspended from said upper track and supported by said lower track, means for moving said carriage along said track comprising an endless chain operating between said upper and lower tracks, a turntable mounted on said carriage and adapted to be rotated at selected intervals, a gear asso-- ciated with said table, and a plurality of spaced racks adapted to cooperate with said gear to rotate said table, said table being adapted to receive an article to be operated upon and to rotate the same when said gear engages with one of said racks.

13. Apparatus for handling articles to be treated, which comprises, in combination, an upper track, a lower track, a carriage, anti-friction members associated wi'n said. carriage and engaging said upper track, antifriction members associated with the lower part of said carriage and engaging a portion of said lower track, a turntable mounted on said carriage and adapted to receive an article to be treated, a gear associated with said turntable for rotating the same, and a plurality of spaced racks located in the zone where said article is treated, whereby said gear is rotated through engagement with a rack to rotate said article.

CHARLES G. CHALLINOR. 

